A year in tyranny
IT’S NOT that long since the regular reader of this thread will have raised an incredulous eyebrow at a situation in the Austrian Bundesliga which saw final league positions decided in court.
Two clubs, Sturm Graz and Grazer AK from Austria’s second city, unsuccessfully contested the deduction of a combined total of 41 points on grounds of, amongst other things, insolvency. Today, the glare will be reciprocated twelve-fold by Austria’s vast legions of Leeds United fans, just 360 days after we ourselves filed for administration.
Let’s allay, right now, any fears that the Austrian game faced meltdown. I’ve checked, and it’s still there – but its most decorated boss isn’t. Going from Trapattoni to pony and trap, Giovanni packed his bags for Dublin after a 3-2 win for Bauwelt Koch (selling building and, erm, cooking) Mattersburg over Red Bull (vodka mixer for puffs) Salzburg handed Rapid (washing powder, probably – oh, hang on a minute, that actually is their name) Vienna the title and a crack at next season’s Champions League.
To alleged heart-attack in a can magnate Dieter Mateschitz, it’s the most coveted shelf space in the whole shop, and much like love, money can’t buy it for his side.
But if this week’s proved anything, it’s that Austria’s basements are where all the action is. Should Austria Salzburg follow tonight’s anticipated win at Taxham with another against Obertrum on Saturday, they may have just enough daylight to secure back-to-back promotions on home turf with a handful of games to spare.
Bracketing 4-0 wins over Union Hallein and Abersee with a ruthless 7-1 demolition job at Abtenau under new boss Gerhard Stöger (seen above sending his team to face supporters after only putting two past whipping boys Lamprechtshausen), the country’s fifth tier beckons for the club which snubbed Mateschitz’s millions.
With a run of impressive higher-league scalps also under their belts, they find themselves in the semi-finals of a regional cup competition which, should they clinch it, would put them into the hat for next season’s Austrian FA Cup 1st round proper. What price a premature Salzburg derby in the house that pop built?
